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A View from Above: Tour Divide 2015 - Day 8

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Tuesday, August 4, 2015. Tour Divide 2015 - Day 8. I had set my alram for a leisurely 6am. When it went off I just lay there for a few minutes thinking "do I really have to get on my bike today"? I grabbed my phone off the charger and looked at Trackleaders to see where people were. There was a conga line of about 8 riders making their way into Lima from about 20 miles out right up to 5 miles out! I could see that Brett, Josh and Jill were in the group. I didn't want to be passed by that many riders!

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A View from Above: August 2015

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Monday, August 31, 2015. Tour Divide - Day 18. I slept in until 5:30am this morning. When my alarm went off I just lay there for a few minutes, thinking how comfortable this was. I knew I had to get up but I was tired, very tired. But this was a race and lazing around in Cuba wasn't in the program so I jumped up and started packing all of my dry, clean gear onto my bike. I had plenty of snacks for today's easy. On trail conditions north and south and I pitied these guys having to climb the Polvadeara Mes...

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A View from Above: Tour divide 2015 - Day 7

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Sunday, August 2, 2015. Tour divide 2015 - Day 7. I thought to myself. I jumped on my bike and pedalled off up the hill toward Fleecer Ridge. It was nice and green up here at elevation and the road was very pleasant. I went to take a drink from my Camelbak and something didn't feel right in my mouth. Looking at the bite valve I could see that something had eaten half of it during the night! Coming up to the drop the view was fantastic. Saying "hi" again and "when did you pass me"? A quick look at the map...

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A View from Above: February 2015

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Friday, February 20, 2015. The Tour Divide Rig Arrives! Phone call today. My tour divide rig was ready to be picked up! So despite almost no sleep and torrential rain associated with cyclone (hurricane for you septics) Marcia, in my sleep deprived state, I braved the canals er roads of Brisbane to pick her up from River City Cycles. Being a Muru cycles B.N.T. The BNT is basically an Aussie version of the Titanium Salsa Fargo. The build I decided on was to mirror Troy's own Salsa Fargo. Which he has put i...

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A View from Above: January 2015

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Saturday, January 31, 2015. Well, I guess I had better get stuck into some training for this race then.eh? Yes, yes I should. Perth suburb of Peppermint Grove. I was at a bit of a loss as to what training plan to go with. I have previously employed the "ride my bike heaps because I enjoy it". Training regime but I feel this might not be up to scratch for an endeavour such as the Tour Divide. Check my pro set-up. Seriously strangled bottle. It was 38C after all! Onto that and I am still 50% ahead. I manag...

dave-livingthedream.blogspot.com

A View from Above: Tour Divide - Day 10

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Friday, August 7, 2015. Tour Divide - Day 10. I awoke to the high pitched beeping of my watch. It was stupid-early again and time to get pedalling. I pack up as quickly as I can and get moving in the early morning light. My overnight accommodation, while not quite 5 star, did the job. I had been warm and safe in there. More to the point, what do other people do? I was relieved to finally get onto the sealed road. I passed a few historic markers but didn't stop as I wanted breakfast. I paid a visit to the...

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A View from Above: July 2015

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Friday, July 31, 2015. Tour Divide 2015 - Day 6. As I waited I felt my left heel. The slight swelling seemed to be gone and it didn't have a "squidgy" feel when I moved it. Good so far today. Well, the coffee went straight into the garden bed beneath it! 8:30 finally arrived and I was first into the post office to get my parcel. How does a package sent to a specific address get sent and held at another address? I began wondering how far all of the other riders had got last night. I figured they would...

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A View from Above: May 2015

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Sunday, May 31, 2015. Honing And Last Minute Stressing. As I sit and type this I have 8 days until I fly out for the US, then Banff for the 2015 Tour Divide race. 12 days until the race itself starts. Detailed how I had dropped my bike into River City Cycles for a pre race drive train change, brake pad replacement and general once-over. Kerry from K Lite was quick to react though. He didn't have any hubs in stock but organised to have one express shipped from the factory in Taiwan. I stewed for a...Well,...

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A View from Above: March 2015

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Tuesday, March 31, 2015. S 24 O. W.T.F. is an S 24 O I hear you mumble? Well dear reader, it is a S. Vernight. How it works is someone, me in this case, chooses a camping spot. I get the latitude and longitude and send it to other like minded bike-packers. Then we ride as much or as little as we like from wherever we choose to start with the only fixed point in space being the camping spot. I threw this out to the other. Fame, was the only one to put his hand up for some stealth camping. I always amazes ...

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A View from Above: October 2014

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Thursday, October 30, 2014. Framing Up A New Ride. A few months back I made mention of retiring my faithful old Giant XTC29er. Well, that was done and she was relegated to general riding duties. Now it is almost time to retire her from that task as well. I have acquired a new frame from a local distributor at a significant discount, so good in fact that it trumped the usual on-line bike discount specialists and I couldn't not buy it! I am pleased to say that black hole of bike shops revealed several comp...